


The Party

by FerrousKyra



Series: Princess Pet Name AU [2]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Crack, Fluff, Gen, How Do I Tag, Is this how tagging works?, also it's Zuko's birthday, also they play an videogame, but it's barely relevant, more or less
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-08
Updated: 2020-12-08
Packaged: 2021-03-09 17:53:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27910315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FerrousKyra/pseuds/FerrousKyra
Summary: Though neither Azula nor Toph would ever admit it, they are friends. Some light competition is all it takes to facilitate bonding moments.
Relationships: Azula & Toph Beifong
Series: Princess Pet Name AU [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2039281
Kudos: 34





	The Party

It's Zuko's birthday, & Aang, as always, had taken it upon himself to host a massive party - something Zuko's only relatively recently stopped turning down the second he offers.

It's also the first of these parties that Azula attends. She's only one year out of _The Institution,_ as it's most often referred to by the GAang. & it's only the second of these parties she's been invited to. (She had taken some time to readjust to large crowds.)

She came with Zuko, who had immediately been swept away into the mass of bodies. Luckily, Azula was greeted by Ty Lee, the only friend persistent enough to remain Azula's companion for long after her mental break. Unluckily, Ty Lee was immediately thereafter distracted by Suki pulling her in some direction or another. Scanning the crowd, Azula found her brother in a conversation with Sokka. They're standing a little too close to be strictly platonic. Deciding that he'll be of no reprieve, she promptly moves into, & hopefully through, the thinnest part of the crowd.

Which leaves Azula alone. Fuck; she misses her emotional support fire ferret, Lulu, right now. (He's named in honor of her late cousin, Lu Ten. The only person able to calm her down when she was in her single digits.)

After the third near-stranger tries to make small talk with her, she decides to seek refuge. One even tried to flirt with her. Azula has flirted with exactly one boy; & the second her deeply-closeted subconscious realized she wasn't failing, it made her blurt-out the single most embarrassing thing she's ever muttered in her life. _Oh, Chan_ Azula thinks. _You really did deserve the arson._

Anyway, she needs all these people to just stop talking to her, so she heads to the couch & sits herself down next to Toph, who'd at least draw attention away from her. That, or she'd mercilessly tease Azula in a way she can't bring herself to hate. Either way, better than interacting with any man. Or any 'sane' person at all.

After she finally finds some amicable silence, a small group of idiots decide to play that weird fighting game Zuzu's friends are all obsessed with. Unlike the triple-a games that boast somewhere around 50 characters, & 8-person local multiplayer, this one sports a grand total of four whole characters. All inspired by real historical figures, no less.

Once the game is set up, it seems everyone at the party decides to queue up for their turn. Pretty soon, Toph is brought into the rotation. & while the big-brand games tend to include at least some audial clues for blind gameplay; this game does not. Normally, Toph would just automatically get Kyoshi, so she could turtle until someone got knocked-out, enabling them to help her navigate. There was a crowd though, & Toph is good at anything she does, including this game, so she gets treated normally, under the assumption that someone would be her eyes.

It doesn't take long for Azula to realize nobody has taken that task upon themself. & it doesn't take much longer for her to pick up the slack. Those idiots would just make it harder on Toph anyway.

"Roku at 3 o'clock."

An expert air blast

"There's a platfo-- Kuruk at 11; 10.

A flying kick.

"There's a platform at your 6, you cannot make it in one jump. Another platform is directly above you."

Toph easily takes the win. She punches Azula in the arm during her resulting gloating, & Azula would never admit it, but she's having fun.

Azula is offered a turn several times through the night, but only plays twice herself. Usually she simply passes, but every once in a while, she'll abandon her aloofness & just have Toph play in her stead.

She doesn't leave that couch for the remainder of the gathering.

The last game of the night, for Azula at least, features the reigning champion, & the birthday boy. Toph's up against Zuko, Suki, & Ty Lee; likely the three people here that Azula knows best.

Everyone but team Melon Lord (Azula couldn't tell you) gets the character they want. Ty Lee gets Yangchen; Suki manages to snag Kyoshi; Zuko takes great-grandfather, the not evil one; leaving Toph with Kuruk.

Zuko's beaten early on.

Ty Lee & Aang are the only two who can properly play as Yangchen, who's a powerhouse when operated correctly; but Ty Lee's out second. Partially because Azula tends to know what she'll do, often before she does.

Suki has only ever been beaten by two people. Aang can manage when he plays Yangchen & Suki is very specifically _not_ Kyoshi; & during one of the 3 games Longshot managed to win without taking a single hit, Suki had played as Roku.

Suki claims she only lost as a mixture of alcohol & the end finishing with a 2-v-1.

Both members of team Melon Lord claim it was purely Toph.

**Author's Note:**

> More fun facts for the game:  
> \- Despite Sokka's best efforts, Katara is the only person who can really play as Kuruk.  
> \- The Duke is the only member of the extended GAang who can consistently beat Toph.  
> \- Smellerbee is easily the best at Roku, as she's the only player aggressive enough. Azula comes close, but she rarely plays.  
> \- Aang isn't nearly as good with Yangchen as Ty Lee because he usually picks Roku, who has a much faster attacking animation.  
> \- Ty Lee & Teo always get first pick because they're the only ones who'll pick Yangchen first.  
> \- The one time Iroh played, he won as Roku. He was very confused that his sister-in-law's grandfather was in a video game.  
> \- Haru is just flat-out bad at it. He always gets first pick to block Suki from getting Kyoshi.  
> \- In case it wasn't clear: Toph's favorite navigator is Azula.


End file.
